20 expeditions that went much further than anyone could have imagined

Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition, launched in 1519, was initially intended to find a western route to the Spice Islands, but it ultimately resulted in the first successful circumnavigation of the Earth. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines, one of the ships that survived the voyage returned to Spain after crossing the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

President Thomas Jefferson had originally tasked Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with exploring the territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and finding a viable waterway to the west. Instead, the expedition mapped vast tracts of unknown territory between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast.

Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition has become one of the most famous survival stories in the history of exploration. After the Endurance was trapped and crushed by pack ice, the crew survived for months in extreme polar conditions before managing to reach safety.

In the early 15th century, during the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese admiral Zheng He led several large-scale naval expeditions. His fleets traveled throughout Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and parts of East Africa, while establishing diplomatic and trade relations.

Roald Amundsen originally intended to explore the Arctic, but later quietly shifted his focus to Antarctica as part of a race to the South Pole. His team reached the pole in December 1911 thanks to meticulous planning, dog sled teams, and efficient supply management.

When Apollo 11 was launched in 1969, the astronauts were propelled farther from Earth than ever before. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin successfully landed on the Moon, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit.

In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama succeeded in reaching India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa. For decades, European powers had been searching in vain for direct maritime trade routes to Asia.

In 1893, the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen deliberately allowed his ship, the Fram, to become trapped in the Arctic ice in order to study ocean currents near the North Pole. Many observers considered this strategy reckless, but the ship survived for years, trapped in the ice.

In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to be confirmed as having reached the summit of Mount Everest. Previous expeditions had failed on several occasions due to weather conditions, altitude sickness, and the limitations of their equipment.

In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific Ocean aboard a simple balsa wood raft to test certain theories about ancient migration routes. Instead, the crew managed to travel more than 6,400 kilometers, from South America to Polynesia.

The Arctic expedition led by Sir John Franklin in 1845 was intended to locate the Northwest Passage, but it ended in disaster when both ships became trapped in the ice. Their disappearance led to years of rescue missions and remains one of the most studied exploration disasters in history.

Napoleon’s campaign in Russia in 1812 began with one of the largest armies Europe had ever seen. However, the harsh winter, supply shortages, and Russian resistance decimated the invading forces during their retreat.

Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole in 1912, only to discover that Amundsen’s team had arrived there first. Exhaustion, the bitter cold, and dwindling supplies took their toll on Scott’s team during the return journey. Nevertheless, they managed to go farther than most would have imagined. 

In 1846, the Donner Expedition attempted to reach California by taking a little-known shortcut. The expedition became infamous because the survivors had to endure starvation under extreme conditions.

Scott’s larger-scale Terra Nova expedition included significant scientific work alongside the race to the South Pole, but logistical difficulties continually slowed its progress. Although some scientific objectives were achieved and the expedition went farther than many would have thought possible, the human cost overshadowed the mission.

In 1959, a group of experienced hikers died under mysterious circumstances in the Ural Mountains in Russia during a winter expedition. This incident continues to spark interest, as its exact cause has never been fully explained.

Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills attempted to cross Australia from south to north in 1860. Poor planning, unfamiliar conditions, and supply problems quickly hampered the expedition’s progress.

Adolphus Greely led an American expedition to the Arctic in the 1880s, focused on scientific observation and exploration. Only a handful of survivors were still alive when rescuers finally arrived.

Many Spanish expeditions ventured deep into the jungles of South America in search of the legendary city of gold known as El Dorado. Instead of riches, many explorers faced disease, famine, and rugged terrain that led to the loss of entire expeditions.

Shackleton’s overall plan was to cross Antarctica entirely on foot after landing at opposite ends of the continent. Although the expedition was a failure from a scientific standpoint, the efforts to survive and be rescued have become legendary.